Mistakenly freed killer sent back to Indiana prison

Convict faces judge 3 days after release

Convicted murderer Steven Robbins stood silent in front of a Cook County judge Saturday, handcuffed and flanked by sheriff's deputies three days after he was mistakenly released from the county jail.

Officers had arrested him without incident late Friday night, surprising him while he watched TV at an acquaintance's home in Kankakee and bringing a frantic manhunt to an uneventful end.

"They caught him totally off guard," said Frank Bilecki, a spokesman for the Cook County sheriff's office.

Robbins, 44, was wearing a wig — which appears shaggy and light-colored in a police photo — when officers spotted him unloading groceries just before they arrested him, according to the sheriff's office.

On Saturday, Robbins wore dark jeans, black-and-green gym shoes and a black zip-up North Face jacket during his brief court appearance. He did not address Judge Edward Harmening, but leaned over a few times to whisper to Assistant Public Defender Todd Chatman.

Chatman emphasized to Harmening that Robbins hadn't tried to escape but instead was mistakenly released by jail staff.

"He had no intention to attempt to escape," Chatman told the judge, who dismissed an escape charge that had been filed against Robbins.

A short time after the hearing, Robbins was on his way back to Indiana, where he will resume serving a 60-year sentence for a 2002 homicide, authorities said.

Robbins' brief taste of freedom began Wednesday evening, when he was mistakenly allowed to walk out of the Cook County Jail after a local charge against him was dismissed.

Documents reviewed by the Tribune showed that paperwork filled out by Cook County sheriff's officers made it clear that Robbins was serving a murder sentence in Indiana and was to be returned to authorities there after being brought to Chicago to dispose of the old case.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Friday that the office's archaic, paper-based system that tracks inmates contributed to the mistake, but he also said his department deserves blame.